What's your best diaper rash advice?

When one of our editors sent a mama-alert email asking for suggestions of how to help her baby with a terrible case of diaper rash, there was a collective shudder across the country. Even though many of us have kids who've long been potty trained and we work in different states, every mother on the staff felt the pain of this baby's bottom.

As the emails flew with recommendations, it reminded me of the early days of my son's life, when I frantically searched online and grilled other mothers for remedies. I didn't care if the cure involved poultices, salves from some thousand-year-old lady in a town twenty miles away, or even my own breast milk -- the crazier it sounded, the more likely I was to smear it on my kid just to make the rawness, redness, tears, and flailing stop.

Every parent seems to develop their own magic formula for diaper rash, sometimes calling on complex genetic code and mathematical formulas and other times just made up out of desperation in the baby care aisle of Walgreens at 2 a.m.

While staffer Lylah M. Alphonse, mom and stepmom of five children, offers this sage and very centered advice, "Our youngest son was sensitive to all kinds of wipes, and would get horrible diaper rash all the time. We finally caught on and switched to using water on plain (and soft!) paper towels or washcloths to clean him, but to clear up the rash I'd slather on a mix of Neosporin and Aquaphor. The Aquaphor soothed his skin and acted as a moisture barrier. It also trapped the Neosporin so it could help heal the blisters without soaking into the diaper instead of his skin."

I also saw some other drug-store and kitchen-pantry remedies come highly recommended on the Berkeley Parents Network site (one of my favorite archives of most-awesome parent advice):
* "I wholeheartedly recommend calendula lotion by Weleda...in less than 24 hours the rash was gone."

* "Our doctor got us started on a miracle ointment. It is called Flanders Buttocks Ointment. It completely clears up even the worst rashes my son had in one to three tries. It is our miracle ointment. It doesn't smell great, but it works."

* "If it is fungal infection, all the treatments you have tired will not work. Especially if desitin and hydrocortizone have not worked, there is a good chance it is fungal. This is an area that could be moist, and perfect for fungus. Try the fungicide (Lotrimin), you will know in a few days- if the rash gets better, then finish the treatment (it may be several weeks). Fungus can stay under the skin for weeks, and the rash may re-occur. The treatment is better than having a persistent fungal infection- especially if it spreads."

* Tea tree ointment for skin (not the straight oil), found at Whole Foods.

* Making your way through the creams -- Desitin Creamy with Aloe and Vitamin E, Bag Balm, Boudreaux Butt Paste, and the like -- until you find the perfect brand for your little one's tush .

* "Sprinkle some corn starch in the diaper when you change it - dust it over the diaper area too. A small handful - just let the powder go all over the place!"

* Nature's most wonderful nourisher and cure -- yep, breast milk.


Laid-back parent advice I loved but never worked for my child included:
* cleaning with cotton balls and water only (no wipes)
* oatmeal baths
* letting the child go diaperless for periods of time to air out the rash, allow the skin to heal and the cleaning lady to really earn her hourly wage


When it gets really bad, is chronic, or you're can't see anything other than rash south of the belly button, some parents have turned to:
* prescription antibiotics and creams
* an investigation of the baby's diet
* switching to a "free and clear" detergent for sensitive skin
* complicated cloth diaper washing techniques that involve double-washing, adding vinegar and baking soda to the wash cycle
* stripping out the inside of the diaper so it essentially "catches" the #1s and #2s without sitting on the skin for too long before you change the baby
* Baby Einstein DVDs, but only because that giant set you bought at Costco HAS to be good for something
* copious amounts of prayer

Did any of these remedies work for your child's awful diaper rash?

What's your best advice for new moms at their wit's end trying to help their baby's poor bum?